Author: Lisa Mungovan

A baby sloth was born at the San Diego Zoo last month. The mother, named Xena, has not revealed the name yet. Linnaeus’s two-toed sloths spend 15 to 20 hours a day sleeping and are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. The sloth pup will cling to its mom for 6 months!

12 people have walked on the Moon. Making it to the bottom of the ocean is almost as rare, because only 27 people have visited Challenger Deep, over 36,000 feet down, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The submarines had to withstand 15,750 pounds-per-square-inch. Congratulations to tiny subs, on Submarine Day.

Today is Saint Patrick’s Day. Patrick was British, but became a Christian missionary in Ireland in the 5th century. The Feast of Saint Patrick has become a celebration of all things Irish, from shamrocks to leprechauns to the color green. Bake some Irish soda bread, and dye the butter green. Happy Paddy’s Day!

Spring has sprung, and beautiful flowers are blooming. They’re lovely to look at, but did you know many flowers are also edible? Try making lilac, violet, or dandelion jelly. Turn forsythia, into a delicious syrup. Clover and lavender make tasty teas. Or pick some redbud flowers off a tree, and just eat them.

Scientists are studying the possibilities of using mussels, to get rid of microplastics. That’s not muscles as in strong arms, but as in the clam-like shellfish. Mussels can filter the tiniest pieces of plastic from the ocean, without any harm to themselves. After eating microplastics mixed with plankton, they excrete droppings suitable for biofuel.

Have you ever seen a curlew? It’s a bird with a long, curving beak, and mottled brown feathers. Part of the sandpiper family, there are 9 species of the large, ground-dwelling bird. Curlews wade along coastlines, digging their long beaks into sand and mud for food. Listen to their distinctive calls, for Curlew Day.

Yesterday was Everything You Think is Wrong Day. Today, is Everything You Do Is Right Day! Whether you put mustard on your pizza, or wear your socks in the shower, you’re still right. It’s also Lips Appreciation Day, so give them some moisturizing lip balm, and use them to smile!

Today is Panda Day, celebrating the lovable black and white fur-balls. The endangered giant panda lives in China, and has a boring diet. They eat bamboo, for up to 14 hours a day! They only weigh 4 ounces at birth, but grow to be 350 pounds. Instead of hibernating like other bears, pandas play in the snow!

Today is Maple Syrup Saturday, which begins Maple Weekend at many parks. Visit a sugar shack, and see how sap from a maple tree, becomes syrup for your pancakes and maple sugar candy. If you still have snow, try making maple syrup snow cream, or maple candy popsicles, using recipes found online.

Do you have a favorite cozy quilt? Take a close look, at all the different fabrics, and the patterns in the tiny stitches. It’s Quilting Day, so maybe it’s time for you to start your own quilting project. Some people make quilts, from their old favorite T-shirts, creating a patchwork of memories.